Fundraising

HRL’s Australia PPP fund completes first deals

HRL Morrison & Co, the New Zealand-based fund manager, has acquired interests in school and hospital assets from its Australian social infrastructure fund.

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HRL Morrison & Co, the Wellington, New Zealand-based fund manager, has completed the first deals from its Australia Social Infrastructure Partners (ASIP) fund, which posted a first close in December last year. 
 
The assets have been purchased from Australian developer Leighton Contractors and comprise interests in the South East Queensland Schools and Royal Adelaide Hospital public-private partnership (PPP) projects. 
 
ASIP is HRL Morrison’s second PPP fund and is focused exclusively on availability-based PPP projects in the Australian market, where the firm believes there is a A$30 billion (€24.2 billion; $31.7 billion) potential deal pipeline. 
 
The fund comprises three trusts: the Leighton Contractors Infrastructure Partners Unit Trust, the LCIP Co-investment Unit Trust (LCIT) – both of which are sponsored by Leighton Contractors – and the Public Infrastructure Partners Australia Unit Trust. LCIT gives ASIP’s institutional investors the opportunity to participate in Leighton Contractors’ future PPP projects. 
 
“The South East Queensland Schools and Royal Adelaide Hospital PPP projects are attractive foundation assets for the fund,” said Mark Mudie, executive director of ASIP, in a statement. 
 
He added: “Looking beyond these first investments ASIP, through LCIT, has preferred access to upcoming social infrastructure PPP opportunities working with Leighton Contractors, who have outstanding experience and track record in the delivery of PPP projects.” 
 
In addition to access to Leighton’s greenfield projects through the two Leighton-sponsored trusts, ASIP will also target other greenfield and brownfield opportunities through the Public Infrastructure Partners Australia Unit Trust. 
 
HRL Morrison was founded in 1988 and now manages multiple infrastructure mandates on behalf of retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients with assets under management of more than $5 billion. The firm has completed five PPPs in recent years and is targeting a final close for the ASIP fund this year.